Ph.D., Environmental Science (avian ecology focus)

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2013

• Thesis: Migration and stopover ecology of songbirds and bats along a major ecological barrier

M.S., Raptor Biology

Boise State University

Boise, ID

2006

• Thesis: Exploring raptor migration using stable isotope analysis: the Northern Goshawk in western North America

B.S., Wildlife Biology

Murray State University

Murray, KY

2000

Quantitative Ecologist

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services

Athens, GA

2019 - 2015

• Provide ecological, design, and analytical assistance to southeastern National Wildlife Refuges
• Build statistical models relevant to ecological research (e.g., occupancy models, hierarchical models)
• Develop methodologies and tools (e.g., R packages) that facilitate the synthesis and analysis of ecological data.
• Coordinate installation and maintenance of automated telemetry stations as part of the Motus Wildlife Tracking network

Postdoctoral Fellow

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2015 - 2013

• Described spatiotemporal variation in the behavior and abundance of sea ducks in southern New England and developed novel statistical methodologies to predict animal distribution and abundance relative to environmental covariates
• Studied post-breeding and migratory movement ecology of migratory birds using automated telemetry

Research Associate

University of Florida

N/A

2008

• Generated probabilistic (Bayesian) models of songbird resource use based on the isotopic composition of avian tissues and potential food resources to document the extent of community-level diet shifts and the seasonal importance of different food resources to migratory songbirds

Avian Research Technician II/III

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

Frankfort, KY

2007 - 2005

• Coordinated and implemented statewide Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon monitoring, two Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) banding stations, migratory songbird banding, winter raptor surveys, and songbird banding training for staff and cooperators

(under review) Linking monitoring and data analysis to predictions and decisions for the range-wide eastern Black Rail status assessment. Endangered Species Research.

N/A

N/A

2019

(under review)

N/A

N/A

2019

(in revision) Florida’s strategic position for collaborative automated-telemetry tracking of avian movements across the Americas. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

N/A

N/A

2019

Modeling spatiotemporal abundance of mobile wildlife in highly variable environments using boosted GAMLSS hurdle models. Ecology and Evolution 9:2346-2364.

N/A

N/A

2019

Gradient boosting for distributional regression: faster tuning and improved variable selection via noncyclical updates. Statistics and Computing 28:673-687.

N/A

N/A

2018

Where’s the Grass? Disappearing submerged aquatic vegetation and declining water quality in Lake Mattamuskeet. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 8:401-417.

N/A

N/A

2017

Bat activity during autumn relates to atmospheric conditions: implications for coastal wind energy development. Journal of Mammalogy 97:1565-1577.

N/A

N/A

2016

Two seconds is all it takes: European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) increase levels of circulating glucorticoids after witnessing a brief raptor attack. Hormones and Behavior 78:72-78

N/A

N/A

2016

Using land-based surveys to assess sea duck abundance and behavior in nearshore waters of southern New England, USA. Waterbirds 38:252-259

N/A

N/A

2015

What to do when stopping over: condition-dependent behavioral decisions of migrating songbirds. Behavioral Ecology 25:1423-1435

N/A

N/A

2015

Using nocturnal flight calls to assess the fall migration of warblers and sparrows along a coastal ecological barrier. PLoS ONE 9:e92218

N/A

N/A

2014

Fruit removal rate depends on neighborhood fruit density, frugivore abundance, and spatial context. Oecologia 174:931-942

N/A

N/A

2014

Birds select fruits with more anthocyanins during autumn migration. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 125:97-108

N/A

N/A

2013

A mass balance approach to identify and compare differential routing of 13^C-labeled carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins in vivo. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 84:506-513

N/A

N/A

2011

Poor reproducibility and inference in hydrogen-stable-isotope studies of avian movement: A reply to Wunder et al. (2009). Auk 126:926-931

N/A

N/A

2009

Deuterium measurements of raptor feathers: does a lack of reproducibility compromise geographic assignment? Auk 126:41-46

N/A

N/A

2009

Intrafeather and intraindividual variation in the stable-hydrogen isotope (\(\delta\)D) content of raptor feathers. Condor 110:500-506

N/A

N/A

2008

Variation in the stable-hydrogen isotope composition of Northern Goshawk feathers: relevance to the study of migratory origins. Condor 107:547-558

N/A

N/A

2005

Local and post-breeding movements of Painted Buntings associated with molt

Carolina Bird Club

N/A

2019

• co-PI with Aaron Given (Town of Kiawah Island, SC)
• $3,500

*Evaluating the use of autonomous recording units (ARUs) to survey Black Rails

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services

N/A

2018

• PI Susan McRae (East Carolina University)
• $19,715

*Inventory and assessment of secretive marshbirds: using eDNA to determine occupancy with a focus on Eastern Black Rail and King Rail

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services

N/A

2017

• PI Susan McRae (East Carolina University)
• $27,352

*Black Rail ecology to inform effective survey design and support population modelling

U.S. Geological Survey

N/A

2016

• PI Clint Moore (U.S. Geological Survey)
• $172,907

Secretive marsh bird surveys on southeastern National Wildlife Refuges

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services

N/A

2016

• co-PI with Whitney Biessler (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
• $92,700

Seasonal connectivity of MacGillivray’s Seaside Sparrow

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services

N/A

2016

• co-PI with Aaron Given (Town of Kiawah Island, SC)
• $11,750

*Seasonal connectivity of MacGillivray’s Seaside Sparrrow

Carolina Bird Club

N/A

2016

• co-PI with Aaron Given (Town of Kiawah Island, SC)
• $4,800

*Automated telemetry monitoring of migratory birds

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services

N/A

2014

• PI Scott McWilliams (University of Rhode Island)
• $7,426

*Acoustic monitoring of migrating bats and birds of Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuges

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services

N/A

2010

• PI Scott McWilliams (University of Rhode Island)
• $33,038

*Rapid assessment of fruits available to songbirds during fall migration

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services

N/A

2008

• PI Scott McWilliams (University of Rhode Island)
• $9,276

*Migratory connectivity: linking raptors to their breeding areas

Idaho Department of Fish & Game

N/A

2002

• PI Al Dufty (Boise State University)
• $17,900

Frank M. Chapman Memorial Research Grant

American Museum of Natural History

N/A

2002

E. Alexander Bergstrom Memorial Research Award

Association of Field Ornithologists

N/A

2002

Southbound Merlin migration in southern New England and the mid-Atlantic (Automated telemetry symposium)

North American Ornithological Conference

Washington, DC

2016

• co-authored by S.R. McWilliams, R. Gray, and C. DeSorbo

Songbird migration and stopover dynamics along an ecological barrier

Connecticut College

New London, CT

2014

What is good quality habitat for migrating songbirds? A nutritional and physiological perspective

North American Ornithological Conference

Washington, DC

2016

• co-author with S.R. McWilliams, S.R., S. Smith-Pagano, L. Langlois, M. Skrip, and B. Pierce

Boosted zero-inflated negative binomial models for spatiotemporal abundance of sea birds

International Workshop on Statistical Modelling

Linz, Austria

2015

• co-author with B. Hofner

Spectating is stressful: witnessing two seconds of a predator attack increases levels of circulating glucocorticoids

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology

West Palm Beach, FL

2015

• co-author with B.C. Jones, S.E. Bebus, and S.J. Shoech

Keeping fruit biochemistry in context: neighborhood influences on patterns of fruit consumption

Wilson Ornithological Society

Newport, RI

2014

• co-authored by S.R. McWilliams

Acoustic monitoring of migrating songbirds and bats in coastal Rhode Island

Northeast Regional Migration Monitoring Network

Winter Harbor, ME

2014

Coastal bat migration and weather: like the birds or for the birds

Natural Resources Science Seminar, University of Rhode Island

N/A

2013

What you don’t know can’t help you: linear mixed models in the environmental sciences

Natural Resources Science Seminar, University of Rhode Island

N/A

2012

Body condition influences the stopover decisions of a migratory songbird

Natural Resources Science Seminar, University of Rhode Island

N/A

2010

Inferring diets of migrating birds: are stable isotopes the answer?

Natural Resources Science Seminar, University of Rhode Island

N/A

2009

(Workshop) Motus wildlife tracking

ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve

Charleston, SC

2018

• presented with N. Wallover and F. Sanders

(Workshop) Using the Motus wildlife tracking network to study avian migration pathways through the southeastern United States

Association of Southeastern Biologists

Myrtle Beach, SC

2018

• presented with K. Lefevre and S. Mackenzie

Raster Processing in R

USFWS Geospatial Training Workshop

Shepherdstown, WV

2016

Scientific Computing and Programming for Coastal Resource Management: Fundamental Concepts and Open Access Tools

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2014

• co-instructor with J. Hollister and P. August

Teaching Assistant, Wildlife Management Techniques

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2012

• Wildlife Management Techniques

Head Teaching Assistant, Human Anatomy and Physiology

Boise State University

Boise, ID

2004

Teaching Assistant, Human Anatomy and Physiology

Boise State University

Boise, ID

2003 - 2001

David Tilson, M.S. candidate committee member

University of Georgia

Athens, GA

2020

Sarah Donlan, Senior Honors Project

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2011

Undergraduate Natural Resources Science Research Apprenticeships (x2)

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2011